London-based Russian TV chef Alexei Zimin discovered lifeless in Belgrade

Tributes have been paid to a London-based Russian chef, tv presenter and author after he was discovered lifeless in Belgrade.

Alexei Zimin, 52, died within the Serbian capital after travelling there to advertise a e-book, Anglomania, through which he gave an immigrant’s tackle Britain’s cultural historical past.

The daddy of three had been a critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 and had spent his closing years within the UK, the place he was the cofounder of Zima, a restaurant in London bearing his title.

Authorities in Serbia mentioned there have been “no suspicious circumstances” associated to his demise and {that a} postmortem and toxicology report have been ongoing, the BBC reported.

Zimin had loved success in his native nation because the face of a cookery present on the NTV channel, which was axed after he posted anti-war messages on social media following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Mikhail Fishman, a distinguished liberal Russian journalist and film-maker who relies in Amsterdam and was a buddy, mentioned Zimin was “rather more than simply his literary and culinary abilities”.

“He cooked, he sang, he wrote, he spoke – he embodied life itself, a zest for all times. Clever, witty, joyful. We’ve recognized one another for about 30 years, possibly much more, and I don’t suppose I do know anybody else who made issues really feel so snug and heat.”

Amid hypothesis in regards to the demise, he mentioned he didn’t consider Zimin had been poisoned.

Alexander Baunov, a senior fellow on the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Middle, mentioned Zimin “actually embodied the spirit of a renaissance man”.

“He engaged in all the things – from writing to culinary arts – and did all of it with exceptional success. His strategy was deeply humanistic, pushed by pleasure and a real look after individuals. Outwardly, he was simply as heat and joyful.”

He’s survived by his spouse Tatiana Dolmatovskaya, a fancy dress designer who beforehand labored at Vogue Russia, and their three teenage kids.

Zimin had been GQ Russia editor in chief earlier than working at Le Cordon Bleu London and went on to open Moscow’s first chef’s desk restaurant, Ragout, in addition to a meals journal, Eda, and a Moscow quick meals chain.

In a social media put up three months after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Zimin mentioned: “Russia shall be free, a technique or one other, or the third, extra mysterious, manner.”

Zimin was in Belgrade to advertise Anglomania, described as “a private tackle the UK’s cultural historical past, anecdotes and fables by means of the eyes of the immigrant”.

Based on his web site, it lined British contributions together with “fashionable concepts about democracy, freedom of speech, human rights, capitalism with an inhuman face and socialism with a human face, science, literature, Christmas turkey and afternoon tea”.